“I know what this is about. I was expecting you.” According to the New York Times, those were the first words Reinhard Siekaczek uttered when he opened the door of his home to six German police officers and a prosecutor in the precursor to what would become the biggest bribery case the world has ever seen.

Siekaczek was an accountant working for global electronic and electrical engineering giant Siemens AG, which in December 2008, paid $1.6-billion in fines after being found guilty for using bribes to secure business contracts around the world.